Inside CDU
Two seasons behind the scenes of Germany's Christian Democrats. Season 1 follows Friedrich Merz, general secretary Carsten Linnemann and the CDU campaign team from the collapse of the traffic-light coalition to the snap 2025 federal election. Season 2 follows the party in power through state elections, sliding polls and its struggle with the far-right AfD. A ZDF documentary series.
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November 2024: the traffic-light coalition falls apart. Friedrich Merz wants an early election, and at CDU headquarters Carsten Linnemann puts the party on a campaign footing overnight.
Merz is chosen as the Sauerland's constituency candidate by a wide margin, while in Saxony MP Christiane Schenderlein fights to keep the CDU relevant against a dominant AfD.
The CDU/CSU is stuck in the polls and pressure from Bavaria grows. Nerves fray as Markus Söder and Daniel Günther clash over a possible coalition with the Greens.
After the Aschaffenburg attack, Merz goes all in: in the last sitting week he brings his five-point plan to the Bundestag, accepting that it may pass with AfD votes. The firewall starts to crack.
Merz defends his poll lead against Chancellor Scholz in the TV debate, the CDU's social media team battles for control of the narrative, and in the final stretch the chancellor candidate campaigns for Philipp Amthor.
